Written question asked by Virendra Sharma (Labour) on Monday, 5 March 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 7 March 2012. It was answered by Stephen O'Brien (Conservative) on Monday, 12 March 2012 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Leishmaniasis

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will estimate the number of people globally affected by visceral leishmaniasis; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle the disease.

Answer: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, is one of the most neglected tropical diseases. The World Health Organisation estimates that 500,000 new cases and approximately 50,000 deaths occur annually due to the disease. The majority (90%) of cases are in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Sudan and South Sudan. If left untreated, VL is invariably fatal within two years.The Department for International Development (DFID) announced the expansion of its work to help control NTDs on 30 January 2012. This was part of a new coordinated push by public and private partners to accelerate progress toward eliminating or controlling ten neglected tropical diseases (““London Declaration on NTDs””) and will include the development of a new DFID programme for VL. DFID also supports VL research at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative and the Institute of One World Health.

Secondary information